Mulund
Mulund is a suburb neighbourhood north-east of of Mumbai, India about 40 kilometers from it. It is also a railway station on the Central Railway line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway It is nestled alongside the foothills of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park with easy access to the Eastern Express Highway and Navi Mumbai through the Mulund-Airoli Bridge . History Historical records of Mulund dates back to the time of Mauryan empire . In those days Mulund and nearby suburbs together were known as Muchchalind. Mulund is the earliest planned suburb of Mumbai city, a gridiron plan was designed by architects Crown & Carter in 1922, which extends from present day Mulund station to Paanch Rasta junction in Mulund (West). The Mulund station is linked to the central line of Mumbai. Mulund was home to a cosmopolitan mix of large number of educated middle class residents and several industrial factories along present day L.B.S. road, some of which are the pharmaceutical companies - Hoechst Wellcome, Glaxo, Merind and Johnson & Johnson. Engineering companies like Richardson Cruddas, Bombay Oxygen, Chicago Pneumatic, ACC, Agfa & Gabriel were also around. Eventually these industrial units have shifted out of Mulund and have been converted to shopping malls and luxurious residence apartment complexes altering the landscape and skyline.Johnson and Johnson factory still remains one of the avant garde modern architectural landmarks of Mulund. Towards the late 90s this suburb acquired a new image with winds of globalization slowly reaching the people here. Old buildings and structures gave way to new malls and cineplexes. This change is most apparent along the L.B.S. Road which today is lined with two major shopping malls, R-Mall and Nirmal Lifestyle. Along the link road, there is D-MART and the world-class hospital - Fortis Hospital. Skyscrapers have lined the landscape, replacing old factories that is new skyscraper of 45 floors in Sarvoday Nagar. Old tailors and garment cut-piece stores have given way to fashion boutiques. Though Mulund today has become densely populated with than what it used to be, it still remains one of the greenest and safest places to live in Mumbai. The pleasant living conditions and easy access to different parts of the city and its outskirts, have attracted many new residents. The population is around 7,50,000 according to the 2011 census data. Transportation Main article: Transportation in Mulund Mulund is well connected to other suburbs and other cities as well by adequate network of trains, BEST buses and roads including a national highway. Mulund is a stop for slow local trains as well as most fast local trains on the central line of the Mumbai suburban network. Mulund Depot is one of the major depot in Mumbai. Educational institutions See also: List of Bombay Colleges Mulund has one of the best tertiary educational institutes in Mumbai, Dayanand vedic vidyalaya Hindi High School has one of the best Hindi medium school [ Friends Co-Operative Education Society School], commonly known a F.C.E.S ] amongst students located in Mulund(W). Located in Mulund (West), the Friends Co-Operative Education Society School is another tertiary institution, which is reputed for its specialization in the Commerce stream. Entertainment The suburb is also home to several gymkhanas and fitness centres, including Mulund Gymkhana and Talwalkars. Kalidas Sports Complex is the major sports complex.Mulund has several cinema halls including Big Cinemas (at R-Mall) and PVR (at Nirmal Lifestyles). However, the single screen theaters like Mehul have lost their sheen in the recent years after the multiplexes have opened. Jawahar, the oldest theatre has shut shop and so has Deepmandir. However, the Jai Ganesh theatre in Mulund (E) has seen some renovation recently. Kalidas Auditorium is the only auditorium in Mulund which regularly hosts Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi plays apart from musical shows. Maharashtra Seva Sangh above Apna Bazaar on JN Road also holds a number of events particularly in the Marathi literary world.'' Mulund has two large shopping malls on LBS Marg, Nirmal Lifestyles and R-Mall. R-Mall is the first mall in Mulund and Thane. It also hosts a four screen multiplex called as the Big Cinemas. Nirmal Lifestyles is the largest mall with a number of stores like Shoppers Stop, and restaurants including McDonald's, and cafe including Manchester United Cafe Bar, Cafe Coffee Day, apart from six screen PVR multiplex. Cypress is one of the popular hangout place of youngsters in Mulund near Yogi Hills - also a shortcut to go Sanjay Gandhi National Park & Tulsi Lake. It is suitable for trekking. Night life Mulund is one of the few suburbs of Mumbai to boast of a vibrant night life. The centre of it all lies within Nirmal Lifestyles mall, near Nahur. Several western cuisine restaurants, along with some Indian restaurants are located within the mall, and it also has two nightclubs.Overall, the night life in Mulund has a sober and peaceful feel to it,except for some dopers. Eating out Mulund has a varied range of restaurants and eating options from continental to desi style thalis, from the contemporary restaurant and bars, to the very popular foreign food chains. Nirmal Lifestyles, R Mall are home to most of these joints. For years, Mulund was catered to by the two most popular eateries - Vishwa Mahal and Vishwa Bharti near the railway station.Its home to umpteen number of Udipi restaurants like Swaadishtaan, Vishwa Mahal, Vishwa Bharti, Vandana, Kirti Mahal, Amruta, Kamath's, Hot Plate, Shiv Sagar, Guru Prasad, Ruchi,Campus Treat, Kampa Treat, Sanmaan and others. Vishwa Samrat, Taste Buds, Amantran, Atithi, Sitara, Bansuri, Nisarg, Ram Punjab etc. are decent for Indian cuisine. A Pure vegetarian multi-cuisine fare is available at Exotic Flavors. Urban Tadka and Masala are contemporary Indian restaurants. Rajdhani, Rajthali & Rasoi serve some good Thalis. While Al Fresco seating is a crowd puller in Timbuctoo, the hooka and deserts do it for Mocha. Pop-Tates - R-Mall and The Fun Bar - Nirmal Lifestyles bring in the Pub style dining to Mulund. Bombay Blues, Bistro Grill and Noodle Bar are worth a try. Pizza Hut, US Pizza, Dominos serve pizzas, while McDonalds has outlets in Nirmal Lifestyle and R Mall. Thai Chi serves some excellent Chinese and Thai dishes and so does Wok. Coffee lovers can enjoy their coffee at several Cafe Coffee Day outlets and Mocha, Mulund is yet to get a Barista or for that matter, Costa Coffee. Places of worship ''Main article :' Places of worship in Mulund Mulund is home to people from various faiths and as a result, there are a large number of temples, churches and other places of worship. Please see the related article -Places of worship in Mulund for details. Parks and Gardens *C D Deshmukh Garden (One of the well maintained garden in Mumbai) *Tara Singh Ground(Yogi Hills Garden) *Kalidas Gardens (Sonar Bangla) *Sambhaji Garden *Johnson & Johnson Park *Lala Tulsiram Garden (Devidayal Garden) *Girish Swami National Park *Tara Singh Talao-Garden (Mhada Colony) cm Category:Mulund